


memory 19

by verbatiim



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Gen, i wanted to write depressed hero of time, i've got complicated feelings about these three so we'll say there's no relationship, take what u want from this, thank you
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 12:48:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19441789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verbatiim/pseuds/verbatiim
Summary: But it used to be--"A river ran through here several centuries ago," Zelda supplies, and he knows that he's told her.





	memory 19

It's a fairytale day at the heart of the kingdom. Warm and mild, so much so that sweat cools on his skin as the sun sets and it still doesn't become a sick chill too harsh to handle. That temperate, unassuming time of year. Link has been teaching himself to appreciate the simple pleasures in life since he woke up. There have been far less enjoyable times, with far worse company.

  
Zelda keeps pace (or he keeps hers) to his right while Sidon dawdles behind. Never too many opportunities to leave the Zora domain, but lately, he's been making exceptions. It's clear that he's been missing the companionship, too. Maybe Zelda reminds him of his sister. Or maybe they distract from the thought of her.

  
A delicate but heartfelt  _ damn it _ resonates beside Link and he slows, tilts his head to listen, turns his chin a bit when she doesn't continue. They've been walking the grounds just outside of the castle for over an hour now, her eyes ever glued to the Sheikah slate like it's going to tell her anything different this time. He doesn't know what she's looking for. Doesn't ask. Neither does Sidon. 

  
He does, however, let his arm dart out in front of her chest as she trips over the beginnings of a little ravine. Just a crack in the ground only deep enough to twist her ankle if she were to fall, but it tapers off quickly into a much bigger cavern. One that all three of them stare into for a long moment.

  
"Familiar?" Sidon chances a guess, and Link remembers.

  
At once he is not nineteen years old and never has been. He is ancient and timeless and here and he remembers. One foot after the other, and he's sliding down, digging fingernails into the dirt.

  
He remembers.

  
It's here. Or it was. He knows that a few short miles ahead is a small cave, cutting straight through the mountain pass and opening up on the cold side of the desert. But it used to be--

  
"A river ran through here several centuries ago," Zelda supplies, and he knows that he's told her. Before the Calamity and she still remembers, because her life has been much shorter than his. Much easier to categorize. This is a difference that he often takes for granted. Such a long line of princesses, Zelda after Zelda, and this is the first one that he would call… Not genuine. It wasn't that the others weren't genuine. Weren't his friends. His responsibility. But this Zelda had a certain tenacity about her. One that made her flawed and loyal and caring where others had been unwavering in their reign.

  
A hundred years ago, he told her about this river. And she remembers.

  
His hands move minutely, like he's trying to come up with something to say in the spaces between her sentences.

  
"He wonders where the fish have gone."

  
Sidon takes to silence like flies to honey. He picks and chooses his words so that he doesn't have to pick or choose his battles, entirely self aware and non-confrontational. The political side of being a prince, Link figures. He continues to walk. Red mud creeps up the sides of his boots.

  
"If there is one thing I know about fish," with some humor, the Zora speaks up, taking one long stride to catch up again. "It's that they are particularly good at finding water."

  
And it's charming, and it's funny, but it isn't what he wants to hear. It isn't an answer. He's relived this life more times than he could care to count, and it's the same kingdom and the same river and the same  _ him _ but he can't remember what the caves can't seem to forget.

  
Sidon's hand on his shoulder nearly makes Link jump out of his skin.

  
"It takes ages for a river this wide to dry up completely. So I believe, my dear hero," he pushes, gentle but firm, leading Link's gaze to the horizon where the Sun bounces its last goodbye over a sparkling lagoon. "They found their way peacefully to Lake Hylia with their brothers and sisters."

  
There is a tentative smile on Sidon's face. One that begs to be accepted. He is trying his best, and he hasn't known Link for long, not really. Not in the grand scheme of things. Won't know him for the rest of Link's life, either. But it's sweet.

  
Link laughs. A soft, halfhearted little thing. But it works, and then Zelda is happy, too.

  
Hyrule is quiet today, as if the world has taken a break from needing saving. Maybe it will be quiet tomorrow, too. Maybe they can visit the fish.

**Author's Note:**

> we all know tloz lore is kind of .... discombobulated at best whether intentional or not  
> so this is based off of the widely accepted "link is reincarnated every time but zelda is always a different princess"
> 
> also thank you to mellific on tumblr for the inspiration!  
> [ https://mellific.tumblr.com/post/185643970101/all-sorts-of-echoes-in-these-caverns-twitter ]


End file.
